CH 199

Pavan could not hide his perplexed feeling when looking at the huge structure that surrounded the top of the Loen Basin in a circular form. Pavan used to come to the Loen Basin quite often, since it was a place Barth Baltic frequently visited when he wanted to think in silence. However, he had never seen such a structure before.

Hela curiously looked at the structure built on the top of the basin.

“What the hell is that? Is that a castle? No, I think it’s made of steel… I’ve never heard of a castle that’s built out of steel before.”

“Me neither, master. There was no such thing here until just a few weeks ago. At the same time, it’s not something that can be built in just a day or two, is it?”

“Then that can only mean one thing,” Hela said as she kicked her horse to ride faster. “It must be Dismas messing with us using some kind of a trick.”

Pavan was startled and quickly caught up with Hela as she suddenly rode ahead on her horse. He bit his lips; he was worried about her going so far from the other soldiers behind them. Despite his personal feelings about Hela, any chance of her dying or getting hurt had to be avoided at all costs.

“Slow down, master!”

As Pavan rode his horse up the slope, he was able to see Hela wandering around the huge steel wall. She was looking around in amazement at the enormous size of the steel structure.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s perfectly built, but it’s still pretty solid. Steel walls, huh? How did they even come up with such a reckless idea? And how did they even manage to bring it all the way up here?”

“Master, at least stay away from the walls. What if they shoot an arrow at you from the top?”

“Don’t worry. There were no guards on the wall. I’m here to negotiate with Dismas anyway—there’s no need for me to enter while bringing a group of soldiers.”

“I alone am not able to take the responsibility for your safety, master.”

“Oh really? My plan was to do my best to put you in danger.”

“Well, you’ve been very successful so far,” Pavan answered with a fed-up look.

Hela walked along the steel wall and tapped it with the tip of her sword. Then she shook her head upon hearing the dull and heavy sound.

“They didn’t just coat the castle wall with steel. The entire wall is made entirely with steel. I’m curious as to how they were able to pull it all the way up here. And it’s not just that there are no guards. There’s one more thing that’s missing, unlike any other ordinary fortress wall.”

“And what is that?” Pavan asked.

“The entrance.”

As Hela said, the steel walls were lined up with steel plates that were about five meters wide and fifteen meters high—but the door was nowhere to be found. Hela and Pavan couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded, since they came all this way just to meet Dismas and negotiate with him.

But Hela decided to think simply. She grabbed her sword and began to slam it against the wall while sitting on her horse.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A loud clanging noise rang out, causing Pavan’s ears to ring.

“Hey! Is anyone there? I’m here to see Dismas Dilver!”

Pavan felt utterly uncomfortable about making a fuss right in front of the enemy camp. But he knew that they had to try everything they could to meet Dismas, even if that meant having to make a fuss in front of the enemy camp.

Still, instead of joining Hela in making a fuss, Pavan kept a close eye on the walls so that Hela wouldn’t get shot by an arrow.

It was at that moment.

Hela and Pavan instantly stopped as they were upon seeing the steel wall suddenly tremble and shake for a brief moment. Then, the two steel plates right in front of Hela and Pavan slowly lifted up and slightly split on both sides. It was such a cramped space that only two people could pass through the gap.

“They want us to come in, right?”

“I think it’s a trap, master. I feel like we will be crushed as soon as we enter.”

“Okay. I’ll go in first, so you risk your life to save me. Okay?”

“I’m starting to think that it might just be easier to leave you here to die instead of working my ass off to try and save you; I can just ask His Majesty for forgiveness later.”

Hela simply ignored Pavan and led the way in.

Pavan gritted his teeth and followed her. Fortunately, the walls did not close down on them to crush the two. And it wasn’t until they had fully entered that they realized what the steel wall looked like.

Behind the wall stood huge giants that were supporting the steel wall.

Pavan and Hela opened their mouths wide at the sight of twenty-meter-tall giants that were holding onto huge iron shields that were as big as their bodies in both hands and leaning against them. The wall was formed by the giants as they lined up and surrounded the basin.

Hela recalled how the wall surrounding Torra was made of Golems. The wall built with the giants was definitely much more sloppy compared to the wall around Torra, but it was a realistic moving wall that could be used even by those who were not as powerful as the emperor.

“Those are giants that have been turned into slaves. It seems like they have been captured from beyond the western boundary,” Pavan muttered.

As Pavan said, the giants were all wearing blindfolds, and had all sorts of strange devices embedded into their skin on their heads, spines, and limbs. While rare, there were some giants that weren’t blindfolded, yet they already seemed to be out of their minds.

Then Hela and Pavan saw people riding on the giant’s back. When the people pulled on something tightly, the giants who had split apart to open the wall slowly closed it up once again.

“Do you think the Imperial Army would be able to break through this wall?” Hela asked.

“They might have been able to do it if this was a flat land, but it would be very difficult if it is this high up. But that’s not even the real problem. Maintaining morale would be the main issue if such giants armed with steel shields decided to go wild. Wouldn’t it be better to bring those Golems of Torra to fight against them rather than seeing the innocent Imperial Army suffer helplessly?”

At that moment, the sounds of horse hooves were heard. A knight in red armor was riding a horse and approaching Hela and Pavan from inside the basin.

Upon seeing the symbol of a hand holding a bloody hammer, they figured that he must be a knight of the Order of Surtr.

The knight who soon stopped in front of Hela opened his helmet.

“Nice to meet you both. You are Duke Henna and Captain Pavan of the Order of the Capital, right? Doctrinal General Dismas awaits you.”

***

“Duke Henna. Long time no see.”

As soon as Hela and Pavan entered the tent, a huge man in red armor spoke to them. His voice was deep and powerful.

Hela couldn’t recognize him because he was wearing a helmet, but she could tell based on Pavan’s nervous expression that the man was Dismas Dilver.

Yet, his greeting remained confusing and incomprehensible.

“Have we met before, General Dismas?” Hela asked.

“I would appreciate it if you would call me Doctrinal General. You may not remember it, since I was too young back then. I used to visit the east with my older brother back when dragons were still flying around in the sky.”

Dismas slowly lifted up his helmet after he finished speaking. He was a man with short red hair who gave a warm and kind impression. He had such a gracious smile on his face that Hela could hardly believe he was an enemy that could start a war at any moment.

Dismas rose from his seat and clenched Hela’s hand. That’s when Hela finally recalled him. However, it was difficult to think that the Dismas in her memory was the same man that was standing in front of her right now.

“You’re that skinny and weak… oh, excuse me. I mean… you’ve gotten a lot… healthier than before,” Hela stuttered.

“It’s all thanks to my efforts to try and keep His Majesty’s grand ambition in my heart. I was allowed to have the power of a strong god, but I still need to have control over my own body to contain such a strong god’s power inside me.”

Although Hela and Dismas were both the commanders of the Imperial Army, it was difficult for them to meet each other, since they were both located at the eastern and western ends of the empire. Hela had heard through the rumors that Dismas had grown into a huge man, but she hadn’t expected him to have become such a muscular macho man.

Meanwhile, Dismas also greeted Pavan.

“Long time no see, Captain Pavan. Is the Regent doing well?”

Pavan made a strange expression upon hearing Dismas’ question. Pavan didn’t witness Barth Baltic’s final moments, but he had collected and stored the spear which had fatally wounded him.

It was a spear with a clear symbol that belonged to the Order of Surtr.

Pavan could not tell whether Dismas was simply pretending not to know or teasing him. Therefore he had no choice but to also give an ambiguous answer.

“Yes. Thanks to you.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It’s all thanks to His Majesty’s grace.”

Hela and Pavan glanced at each other; they predicted that negotiations would be much more difficult than they had thought. By all accounts, Dismas seemed to be completely out of his mind.

Dismas smiled warmly as he shook Hela’s hand, and then he suddenly got straight into the negotiations.

“I know why the two of you are here. It’s because of that girl named Anya, isn’t it?”

Hela’s eyes narrowed. She had been thinking about what Dismas might say to them for a long time. Not only had she expected him to unconditionally reject all negotiations or deny the fact that he had abducted Anya, but she had also devised a counter-argument and suggestions to make him agree to negotiate with him.

But she hadn’t expected him to be the one to bring up the issue first.

“I wouldn’t say she’s a girl… but it is true that she’s still young. Doctrinal General Dismas, old people like us don’t care when we die, but wouldn’t it be nice to give younger people more opportunities and show them mercy?”

“I know that you must have had a hard time coming all this way, but you seem to have come in vain.”

“What do you mean we have come in vain?” Hela asked.

“I already burned that girl named Anya yesterday. I sent her ashes to His Majesty.”

A long silence filled the tent.

Then, Pavan cleared his throat to break the dead silence.

It was only after Hela heard his cough that she managed to come back to her senses. For the first time, she was grateful for Pavan’s inhumane character.

When Hela didn’t open her mouth for a long time, Pavan decided to open his mouth first.

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“Would it be possible for us to see her remains?”

“They have already turned into ashes, but sure. If that’s okay with you.”

Dismas nodded to the guard standing by the entrance. The guard soon left the tent and quickly came back with a small box. The small square box was filled with white ashes.

Hela looked into the box that reeked of the smell of ash for a long time and then finally opened her mouth.

“Why did you burn her?”

“I’m sorry? Of course I had to burn her, since she refused to repent. Those who have been cleansed by flames will rise to the sun without any of their sins from the world. It is said that His Majesty’s body remains on land, but his soul resides in the palace of the sun and he rules over both the surface and the underworld. Although she was a girl who had stained her soul by using profane magic, I’m sure His Majesty would be generous enough to welcome her into his arms, since she was still so young,” Dismas answered.

“Did she suffer a lot from the pain?”

“The amount of pain becomes a measure of self-reflection. If the soul can be cleansed by the pain of the body, what is more valuable than that? The girl’s screams were painful for us to hear, but we were relieved to think we were able to rescue even one more person’s soul safely and send it to…”

“So you’re saying that she was screaming.”

Hela cut Dismas’ words off even before he could finish speaking.

Dismas flinched and paused for a moment, but soon nodded.

“Yes. She did.”

Then, Hela poured the contents of the box she was holding onto the floor without any hesitation as soon as she heard Dismas’ answer.

Just as Dismas’ expression became stiff due to the white ash covering the inside of the tent, Pavan placed his hand over the handle of his sword in a nervous manner.

“As far as I know, Anya doesn’t scream no matter how much pain she is suffering from.”

Dismas looked down at the scattered ashes and soon became expressionless. The air in the tent froze in the face of Dismas’ cold expression, almost as if his kind and warm smile from earlier had all been a lie.

Dismas bent down and picked up a handful of the ash.

“That I can confirm.”

“...Why did you tell us such a lie?” Hela asked.

“Because I wanted to see you, the fake emperor’s dogs, be surprised. That frozen look on both of your faces just now was quite a sight.”

Dismas’ tone that suddenly became arrogant as if he no longer felt the need to pretend to be nice made him seem like a completely different person from before.

Based on this, Hela judged that Dismas had to have a very elusive character.

The negotiations had begun.

“Is Anya still alive?” Hela asked.

“Yes. But I don’t think there's any reason for me to give her back to you.”

“You didn’t even listen to any of my suggestions yet.”

“The fake emperor insulted my father, His Majesty, and His Holiness. If he really wants to make a suggestion that suits my taste, I don’t think there’s anything else he can offer me other than his own head. Of course, the rest of his subordinates better make a run for it after that.”

‘Us offering to keep you alive might be the most attractive suggestion we have.’

Hela thought to herself. But instead of saying useless things, she decided to persuade Dismas.

“Anya isn’t a useful hostage. She’s simply not worth it. I’m sure you already know this, but I heard that Anya has lost her abilities as a necromancer. She’s just an ordinary person now.”

Hela had already heard from Juan that Umbra had been destroyed and that Anya had lost most of her necromancy. Furthermore, Hela also knew that Anya was severely injured from her fight against Iolin.

Dismas didn’t seem to care about what Hela had said, but he was listening quietly in silence.

Hela sighed and made a suggestion.

“I will suggest a better hostage to you that is worth a lot more than that. I will be your hostage instead of Anya.”